Val Kilmer – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SHAKESPEARE HIGH – Retroview by Jennifer Merin

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 Jennifer Merin Alex Rotaru, California Shakespeare Festival, documentaries, Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival, Drama Teams, Hollywood Actors, kevin spacey, Mare Winningham, Prime Video, shakespeare, Val Kilmer

In Southern California, a mixed demographic of high school drama student teams from several schools scattered across the areas diverse neighborhoods, prepare to compete in the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Festival, held each April (specifically on April 22 in 2023). Over the years since its inception more than a hundred years ago, the annual Shakespeare competition has become just as popular as local and national teenage sports competitions and events, and members of the participating schools’ drama groups are recognized on campus as stars.

Reviews

TOP GUN: MAVERICK – Review by Susan Granger

May 31, 2022May 29, 2022 Susan Granger don granger, jennifer connolly, tom cruise, top gun maverick, Val Kilmer

After welcoming audiences into the theater, Tom Cruise flies high in Top Gun: Maverick as a defiant, daredevil fighter pilot, pushing a plane’s limits – and that’s just the opening sequence. Still a U.S. Navy Captain, Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell is ordered back to the elite training program, Top Gun Academy in San Diego, to prepare a group of rowdy hotshots for a dangerous overseas mission. They’re to destroy a uranium enrichment plant that’s been cleverly hidden in a heavily-fortified valley surrounded by steep mountains.

Reviews

TOP GUN MAVERICK- Review by T.J. Callahan

May 27, 2022May 27, 2022 T. J. Callahan jennifer connolly, tom cruise, top gun maverick, Val Kilmer

You’d think Hollywood would be entering the danger zone by bringing us a sequel so many years later, but goodness gracious great balls of fire, fans will NOT be losing that loving feeling. “Top Gun: Maverick” gives groupies everything they want and more, even though Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer are the only returning stars. With Kilmer suffering from throat cancer in real life, it’s amazing he was able to make the film and he looks great. Even our hero, Tom, finally showing he’s not totally ageless, proves no mission is impossible doing his own flying and, as a producer, making sure the action was real and didn’t rely on CGI. If you have a need for speed, Top Gun: Maverick is your thrill ride of the summer.

Reviews

VAL – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

July 29, 2021August 1, 2021 Valerie Kalfrin HelMel Studio & Gallery, ice man, Joanne Whalley, Leo Scott, Ting Poo, top gun, val, Val Kilmer

Before he earned the nickname “Iceman” and became a 1990s icon as Batman, Val Kilmer loved goofing around in front of and behind a camera. He’s collected a treasure trove of footage throughout his life that the documentary Val pieces together into an immersive narrative about his love of art, acting, and family.

Reviews

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE – Review by Susan Granger

July 27, 2021July 30, 2021 Susan Granger Clara McGregor, Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Giannopoulos, Lorraine Bracco, mafia, mob movie, Shiloh Fernandez, The Birthday Cake, Val Kilmer

Set in Brooklyn, this mob film begins with the 10th anniversary of Giovanni’s father’s death. Giovanni (Shiloh Fernandez) dutifully goes home and dons a suit to continue the family tradition of delivering the titular cake, baked by his widowed mother Sophia (Lorraine Bracco), to the home of his Uncle Angelo (Val Kilmer), the local Italian/American Mafia boss.